UCONN MEN'S BASKETBALL: Huskies win in nail biter against UNH

HARTFORD >> Kevin Ollie is a genuinely positive person. It takes a lot for him to get too negative about his team -- or anything, really.

But even Ollie seemed to struggle to find the positives in UConn's 61-53 win over New Hampshire Thursday night at the XL Center. He managed to find a few things -- the Huskies outrebounded an opponent for the first time this season, and Ryan Boatright and Omar Calhoun stepped up with productive games.

Ultimately, Ollie knew his team didn't play well -- it's just that UNH played worse. But he wasn't about to hand back the win that upped the Huskies' record to 6-1.

"I'm not going to have a pity party, that's not who I am," Ollie said. "We had a good win, and I'm not going to apologize for it."

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This was easily UConn's worst game of the season. The Huskies shot 37 percent from the floor and missed 13 of the 14 3-pointers they hoisted up. UConn turned the ball over 13 times and shot 67 percent from the foul line.

Fortunately for the Huskies and the partisan 8,705, UNH (2-4) was even worse. The Wildcats shot just 31 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 15 times and hit barely half (eight) of the few free throws they attempted.

"We still got the 'W,' but it was a bad game," sophomore DeAndre Daniels said. "We didn't shoot the ball very well, and they outhustled us on a lot of things and played harder than us.

"But," he added, "we're 6-1."

No doubt, the Huskies will have to play better in their next contest, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against No. 18 North Carolina State.

"N.C. State's a great team," Boatright said. "They're athletic, they've got the size, a good point guard, C.J. Leslie's a great player. And, it's in the Garden. Being in New York, period, is going to up your enthusiasm. We've got to up the intensity, or we're going to be embarrassed."

Boatright finished with a season-high 19 points, bolstered by 9-for-11 free-throw shooting, and Calhoun added 16. Daniels pulled down a season-best 10 rebounds and Calhoun added eight as UConn won the battle of the boards for the first time this season, 43-40.

"We were able to beat a team with rebounds, that was a positive," Calhoun said. "We know we've got to keep working and see areas of improving."

The first half wasn't pretty. UConn shot just 9-for-29 from the floor and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts. UNH shot even worse (8-for-34) and missed 10 of its 11 3-point attempts, allowing UConn to hold a 25-18 lead at the break.

UNH was within four (57-53) with as little as 36 seconds left. But Boatright and Calhoun combined to hit four straight free throws to clinch the game.

UConn seemed to have the game sealed after a 7-0 run (capped by Calhoun's 3-point play) gave it a 57-46 lead with 1:42 left. But UNH countered with a 7-0 run of its own.

Ollie, as is his nature, remained positive.

"At the end of the day, we did outrebound them, which is a good, positive thing," the first-year coach said. "But we've just got to shoot better. We needed them to shoot that bad to win. I do like our defensive effort. Offense takes time."

RIM RATTLINGS

?Tyler Olander continued his recent funk, fouling out in just 16 minutes of action. He did manage eight points and four boards in that time, but his propensity to pick up fouls is a concern.

"We've got the guys we've got, we're going to play with them, believe in them," said Ollie. "Hopefully, Tyler believes in himself. He's got to stop fouling. I need him in the game for more minutes."

?Shabazz Napier also had an off-night, finishing with just five points, three assists and a pair of turnovers. Why is the junior guard so inconsistent?, Ollie was asked.

"If I had the answer, I'd have a lot of people sitting on my couch and I'd be a psychiatrist," the coach joked.

?A source with strong Big East ties said that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has been strongly opposed to UConn's potential move to the ACC, and that Boeheim has relayed this opposition to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, for whom he's an assistant on Team USA. The source believes that Krzyzewski may have been opposed to an invitation to UConn, as well.